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Bargaining
This page is in construction. Please help out RiME Wiki! Bargaining is the third stage of the game. Overview Bargaining exhibits similar white architecture to that of the Denial stage, although more overgrown with nature and has swampy features. There are large and murky underwater caves, and part of the stage appears to be an abandoned facility once created for the construction of sentinels. Enemies Shades The black shades from the Anger stage make a second appearance here, but are now hostile. Enu must evaporate them by voice activating light orbs, or they'll slowly drain his life force. Companions Nana Nana plays her usual guiding role, with some areas you can interact with her with the action button. Sentinels The sentinels make their debut. One sentinel guides Enu and projects images to him of what he must do next. You then go on to assemble your own sentinel, which you guide to help activate more sentinels. Collectibles Lullabies many and where. Outfits many and where. Toys many and where. Emblems many and where. Symbolism * The bargaining stage is arguably the most narratively driven stage of the game, for a game with no words at least. When peeking into depths of it's symbolism, the story of what happens before the events of RiME can be pieced together. * The ruins are similar to that of Denial's architecture, but much more overgrown with vines, moss, and foliage. This conveys the idea of nature prevailing against its odds, nature reclaiming what is its own. It's a triumphant feeling, though a slow and gradual one. * The stage opens with sort of hub room with many doorways. You can enter any of them, but no matter which way you turn you end up at the hub. It seems hopeless, but the more times you attempt to escape from the hub, you will eventually find yourself in a new hallway which goes on for as long as you do not turn around. This is a clear parallel to draw to a sense of Denial, but a more active and speculatory one which is in essence how Bargaining manifests psychologically. You come up with many theories and explanations to lead yourself on with (the paths you take from the hub,) and you continue to look for explanations that satisfy what you want to believe instead of looking back at the situation objectively (the hallway that doesn't end until you look behind yourself.) * The large statue in this stage is reaching towards the sky, pleading. Half of the statue becoming a more realistic depiction of Manu. * A mural in this stage depicts a five stage process of a salt statue becoming a shade. * There are also many puzzles and a mural depicting Enu using light to extinguish the shades, possibly implying the belief that Enu escaped death somehow. * The tree that you take the sentinel core from bears a striking resemblance to the red tree in Denial where Enu's mother's grave rests beneath. ** Upon removing the core, the tree withers and dies. We know from the story behind the keyholes that the Queen, and thus Enu's mother, had passed away sometime before the events of the game. ** Enu then uses the core to construct a Sentinel, which he then must guide and teach how to walk, much like a child. One can draw the similarity of that of a parent and child. This is where the lines between Enu and Manu's emotional journeys begin to blur. If taking the core from the tree caused it to wither, and the core was needed for the Sentinel's creation, this is a clear connection to how Enu's mother died and Manu went on to raise and guide Enu on his own. Furthermore, this tree seems to be rooted at the base of a tower overgrown with vines, similar to the one you scale throughout the game. (and we know that the keyhole tower symbolizes a progression through grief.) This could just be an extrapolation, however "the tree" is mentioned within the game's main vocal song, which does call some attention to the symbolism of trees within the game. References Gallery 2018062816135300-552353331B48AB6CE514D1402342184E.jpg 2018062001450700-552353331B48AB6CE514D1402342184E.jpg 2018062000465200-552353331B48AB6CE514D1402342184E.jpg 2018062001111700-552353331B48AB6CE514D1402342184E.jpg 2018062001112400-552353331B48AB6CE514D1402342184E.jpg 2018062001112800-552353331B48AB6CE514D1402342184E.jpg 2018062001530500-552353331B48AB6CE514D1402342184E.jpg 2018062001191300-552353331B48AB6CE514D1402342184E.jpg|Bargaining title screen Category:Stages